


The water’s hot?!

by schyrsivochter



Category: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 14:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20968079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schyrsivochter/pseuds/schyrsivochter
Summary: The water’s hot?! – or: Deet getting a bathDeet gets cleaned against her will.





	The water’s hot?!

**Author's Note:**

> So somebody in the Resistance Discord server said something about Deet getting cleaned against her will, à la Podling Deterge. I wished for an actual fic about it. Then I thought, why not write it myself? And then I spent seven hours writing it and posted it on Tumblr at 3:20 a.m.
> 
> This is a revised version with a substantially changed beginning and some more edits.

Brea had waited for this moment for a while now, when she could speak to Deet alone.

‘I’ve noticed the looks some of the people are giving you,’ she began. ‘You … and Rian,’ she added more quietly.

‘What about Rian?’ Deet asked. ‘What does he have to do with me?’

Brea laughed. ‘Come on. I’ve seen the looks you two give each other. And you’re walking around this place holding hands. You’re not fooling anyone.’

Deet said nothing, but seemed to take a sudden interest in the ground at her feet. Brea chuckled. ‘Everyone knows. And most find it really sweet. But some’ – she grew more serious – ‘don’t understand. They’re still living their old lives, thinking their old thoughts.’ Deet was a hero now and the people showed her respect – many of them wholeheartedly, but some of them only begrudgingly. ‘They frown upon the Grottan. And upon those who’d take them as partners. Let’s not confirm them their prejudice, shall we?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You know they think Grottans never wash and they’re dirtier than the Podlings? Let’s prove them wrong.’

It was the first time Brea suggested she should take a bath, and Deet was offended. ‘You’re just as bad as them,’ she snapped. ‘You think you’re doing me a favour. Poor Deet, we’ll make a Vapran lady out of you yet. But I’m a Grottan, and nothing will change that. I’m proud of who I am. I don’t need your pity. I’m doing just fine.’ Then she left and avoided Brea for the rest of the day.

The second time Brea told her she should take a bath, she was upset. ‘Do you think I smell bad?’ she asked. ‘Or that I’m ugly, or that I’m disgusting—?’

Brea smiled. ‘No. I just think it’ll do you good.’

The next few times, Deet was merely annoyed. ‘Go away,’ she’d say, or ‘I’m fine, thank you,’ or ‘Stop nagging me.’

Brea did not stop. She kept nagging her about it. ‘I think you’ll like it,’ she said one day. ‘I know I always feel refreshed and clean and beautiful after a bath.’

Deet still declined, as always. And she’d still walk around the place holding hands with Rian, earning the stares and whispers of the older and more close-minded citizens.

One day, Brea had enough.

The next day, she intercepted Deet in the morning when she was about to leave. ‘Come on,’ Brea said, grabbing her hand, ‘off we go. Bathing time!’

‘Wha—No!’ Deet protested. ‘I’ve got things to do!’

‘Like snogging Rian?’ It was a shot in the dark, but Deet’s speechless spluttering in response confirmed it.

Deet tried to free her hand from Brea’s. Brea kept a firm grip. ‘You can do that in the bath, too,’ she said (it was a lie; she’d never allow it in her presence), dragging Deet towards the bathhouse. It wasn’t easy; the Grottan was struggling and fighting every moment, and she was strong, and Brea was not.

Deet eventually managed to yank her arm free and took off, running straight towards Rian’s quarters. Brea grinned. She knew what would happen now; Deet was _so_ predictable.

And … there he was. Rian, a grin on his face to rival her own, pushing a furious Deet in front of him. ‘Morning, Brea!’ he called.

Brea joined them. ‘Hello, Rian.’

‘I can’t believe you’d betray me like this!’ Deet hissed. ‘Let me go!’

‘Sorry, Deet,’ said Rian. ‘I’m with Brea on this. Relax. It’ll do you good.’

‘All right,’ said Brea. ‘We’ll undo your braids first, loosen up your hair so we can wash it properly. Sound good?’

Deet was no longer fighting them, or angry with them; she had resigned herself to her fate, though not without fear. She sighed and simply said, ‘All right.’

Brea and Rian set to work, removing the little bands and undoing Deet’s braids in front of a mirror while she looked in wonder at her hair, bit by bit, falling loose in little wavy strands. It took time; the braids were thin and all in all a bit chaotic.

‘Right, that’s the last one done,’ said Brea eventually. ‘How do you feel?’

Deet was quiet for a few seconds, running her hands through her hair. ‘Different,’ she said eventually. ‘My hair’s all … smooth now.’

Rian chuckled. ‘Not yet it isn’t. Look at this,’ he said, ruffling the messy hair on top of her head. ‘But we’ll do something about that later.’

‘Yes,’ said Brea. ‘This was just preparation. Let’s get you into the water now.’

Deet turned to face her, eyes wide. ‘Now?’

Brea smiled at her. ‘The water’s fresh and hot. No time like the present.’

‘The water’s _hot_?’

‘Aww,’ said Brea. ‘Yes. It’s hot. Otherwise you wouldn’t get clean and it wouldn’t be half as good.’

‘I’m scared.’

Rian took her hand in his. ‘It won’t hurt,’ he said. ‘Though it will be uncomfortable at first. But you’ll soon get used to it. Trust me.’

Deet pulled Rian into a hug. ‘Thank you.’

Rian pulled away after a short while, still watching her with the same admiration and love as he always did. He turned Deet gently around to face Brea again.

‘Come on,’ she said, placing a hand on her arm. ‘let’s do this. You’ll need to take those clothes off.’

Deet, fiddling with her hair, uncertain, glanced at Rian.

Brea followed her gaze and hummed in amusement as she glimpsed Rian’s face. ‘Already undressing her with your eyes, aren’t you?’

Rian blinked and stared back at Brea, ears twitching. ‘No,’ he said, ‘no… I was just looking at her.’

Brea narrowed her eyes. ‘If you can’t behave yourself, I’ll have to ask you to leave.’

Rian huffed. ‘Fine. I’ll turn my back. See? I’ve got my back turned. Now go ahead.’

Brea glared at him – well, at the back of his head – before turning back to Deet. ‘Do you need help?’

‘Er – yes. I’d like that. Thank you.’

Together, they removed Deet’s shoes, her dress, and her undergarments, and eventually, they walked over to the bathtub. Brea put a hand in the water. ‘It’s cooler than I’m used to,’ she said. ‘I guess this will be just right for you.’ She motioned for Deet to climb in.

Warily, Deet put a hand in the water first, mimicking Brea. She moved it around a little and eventually let out a tiny little laugh.

‘This feels so weird!’

Brea smiled. ‘It’s hot water and soap. It’s good, I promise.’

Deet dipped a foot in next, and quickly pulled it back out, splashing Brea with a few drops. ‘Ow! It’s hot!’

‘Yes. Your feet are more sensitive to heat. You know Rian said it would be uncomfortable at first.’

Deet nodded, and slowly, and carefully, put the foot back in, then her leg, and finally, she was standing inside the bathtub. The light wasn’t very bright, Brea thought, otherwise she might have seen clouds of dirt in the water around Deet’s foot. ‘Careful now,’ she said, ‘that you don’t slip.’

‘All right,’ said Deet and pulled her other leg in.

‘Now, sit down, but try to keep your hair out of the water.’

To Brea’s mild surprise, Deet did as she was told without complaining, and, sitting in the water, gently stirring it with her arms, seemed almost content.

Brea turned around towards Rian and out of the corner of her eye saw him quickly turn his head away. She gave a small yelp of indignation. ‘Have you been _peeking_?’

‘…No?’

Brea scoffed at the blatant lie and grabbed her hairbrush.

‘I don’t mind,’ said Deet, and Brea almost dropped the brush again. How was she able to say that in this completely innocent tone of voice? It was bad enough that Rian acted the way he did; Deet didn’t have to encourage him like this!

She groaned, but said nothing. Instead, she sat down behind Deet, and started gently and methodically brushing the hair hanging over the side. ‘Relax,’ she said, and it was just as much a reminder to herself as to Deet. ‘I’ll brush your hair first, then we’ll wash it. I’d usually brush my hair, or have one of my sisters do it, before getting in, but—’

And then the memories came rushing in. The brush slipped from her grasp and clattered on the floor, and she turned away, buried her face in her hands, and sobbed, because never again would Tavra be brushing her hair, or Brea would brush hers.

‘Brea?’ she heard Deet’s voice from behind her, accompanied by the sound of water splashing, and ‘Brea!’ came Rian’s voice from across the room. In an instant, he was at her side, a hand on her shoulder. ‘What’s wrong?’

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t answer. He thankfully didn’t press the issue, but took her in his arms, and she cried on his shoulder until she found her voice back. ‘Tavra,’ she said. ‘She’s … she’s _gone_. And my mother.’

‘I understand,’ said Rian softly. ‘I lost Mira, and my father.’ He gave her one more squeeze, then slowly pulled away. ‘Now, I think we’d better get on with our work before Deet gets jealous.’ And there it was, the usual mischief in his voice, back as if nothing had happened.

Brea, eyesight still somewhat blurry, turned back to Deet. She was smiling, but somewhat sadly. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I wanted to comfort you, but … I didn’t want to make you wet, too.’

Brea couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s kindness and thoughtfulness. She found her hairbrush and resumed brushing Deet’s hair. The ends were now wet, she noticed, because Deet had turned her head around without paying attention to her hair when Brea had started crying.

‘I was saying,’ Brea began, slightly annoyed at how whiny her own voice sounded, ‘I’d usually have my hair brushed before getting in the water, but it’ll take some time for you, so I figured you might get comfortable.’

‘That sounds good,’ said Deet. ‘Sorry for getting it wet.’

‘It’s no bother,’ Brea assured her, still diligently working the brush through Deet’s hair, strand by strand. ‘Are you comfortable, though?’

‘It’s … not bad.’

Brea smiled to herself. She’d been right.

Brea had eventually got tired and asked Rian to take over brushing and eventually washing Deet’s hair. She’d sat on a chair and watched them, and that time had mostly been filled with silence and Rian flirting. It had been starting to annoy and bore her, and she’d been getting hungry, too; and eventually, on a whim, she’d decided to leave the two alone, propriety be damned. ‘Try not to get yourself too wet,’ she’d told Rian before she left, leaving him speechless and Deet sniggering.

It had been too early for lunch, so she’d just had a small snack and gone to her room to write in her journal. And eventually, lunchtime neared, and she’d started to wonder why she hadn’t seen or heard from Rian and Deet yet.

It wasn’t until after lunch that she saw them again. She greeted Rian with a mockingly approving, ‘You have successfully managed to keep dry!’

Rian gave a little awkward laugh. ‘Yes, I have. It’s not my fault, though.’ He gestured towards who was walking behind him, holding his hand.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that her eyes still looked distinctly Grottan and she still wore the same dress, Brea would’ve hardly recognised Deet. Her skin, now a much lighter shade, almost seemed to glow; her loose hair, smoothly falling on her shoulders and chest, rivalled Brea’s own; and she was beaming.

‘Well,’ Brea said eventually. ‘Happy to be out of the water again?’

‘No! Everything’s cold now. How do you manage to get out once you’re in?’

‘Ha! Not very well, if I’m being honest. How do you feel, though?’

‘Different,’ Deet said. ‘Like a new person. I feel like I can’t do anything now because I’ll get tainted. Ugh, it’s horrible. I love it!’

Brea walked up to Deet and hugged her. ‘Didn’t I tell you?’

‘Yes,’ she heard Deet’s muffled voice. ‘I was just scared.’

‘Your hair smells _so_ nice now,’ Brea remarked.

‘Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?’ said Rian. Brea chuckled.

‘Your dress doesn’t, though,’ she added, breaking away again. ‘Might want to wash that, too.’

‘Maybe we’ll do that in the afternoon?’ asked Rian nonchalantly. ‘I mean, since we’ve already taken the day off—’

‘So she can spend the rest of the day in her underwear? _Wouldn’t you like that._’ For Thra’s sake, that man could be blunt!

Brea shook her head in amusement. It wasn’t her problem. Deet was a grown-up, she should be the one to handle him. And she remembered Rian’s remark that it wasn’t his fault for keeping himself dry. Yes, she thought. Deet could handle him.

And then she noticed that Rian’s hair had some subtle, yet significant differences to earlier when she’d left him. Oh, well. Maybe she couldn’t.

Or maybe it didn’t matter, as long as they were happy and together.

**Author's Note:**

> A part of me is dissatisfied with how this turned out. It’s not particularly realistic; it doesn’t quite match the way I think the world would actually work or the characters would actually act. For instance, I don’t believe Deet would really be this averse to washing. I also kept some things deliberately basic or vague to avoid having to come up with things; for instance, when and where it happens, why they’re together and Deet’s not Darkened, what their actual work is that they’ve taken a day off from, etc.
> 
> But in the end, who cares? It’s just a bit of fun. Realism and internal consistency don’t matter for a little standalone piece like this. I can throw as much characterisation and world building out the window as I like. :)


End file.
